Nesasio Coracao
by kwirky
Summary: Begins with the episode 'Zoo York'. Danny and Lindsay met for the first time at the New York City Zoo. He had been confident and snarky. Despite this, Lindsay could tell that her new colleague had a secret. And she was going to find out what it is.
1. Day at the Zoo

_**CORACAO NESASIO**_

I am not going to tell you what the title means until the end of the story. If you know what it means, please DO NOT put it in any reviews or anything. I want it to be a mystery. :)

This is going to be told through Lindsay's POV. Although I may try a chapter or two from Mac's perspective.

This is a DL fic. It also has kind of a Mac/Danny, father/son vibe.

Summary; Starts off with 'Zoo York'. Danny and Lindsay met for the first time at the New York City Zoo. He had been confident, snarky. He had even played a small joke on her. Despite this, Lindsay could tell that her new colleague was hiding something, but once she discovers what it is, what will happen next?

I do not own anything.

-

**Chapter One: Meeting a Mystery**

I walked up to the Tiger exhibit. It was my first day here in the Big Apple, and I'd already been called in to the field. I saw a stern looking man kneeling down next to a tiger. I knew immediately that this wasn't going to be like anything I had ever worked on. It was a _tiger _for Christ's sake! I tried to compose myself as I finally reached the metal bars of the enclosure. I paused, taking in the crime scene. There appeared to be bloody body parts strewn about on the ground. It was quite gruesome, but I've seen worse... _Much _worse.

"Detective Taylor?" I hazarded a guess.

He looked up at me with a blank face, "Yeah", and quickly put his eyes back on the tiger, though the look on his face told me I still had his attention.

I felt myself smiling. I could tell right away that this man, despite his stern face and legendary reputation, would be quite easy to work with. "Lindsay Monroe", I introduced myself, smiling.

Detective Taylor looked back up again, also wearing a small grin, "My new investigator from Bozeman." It had not been a question. He seemed to be simply filling in the blanks for himself.

I nodded, "Your office said that you wanted me to come down as soon as I arrived?"

He gave me an odd look that I could not decipher, "Glove up."

"Now?" I asked. I had assumed that since this was to be my first case with them, I would probably be sitting on the sidelines for most of it. Of course, if the rumors I heard about Mac Taylor were true, he never was one to stick to the normal protocol.

He looked up once again, a smirk on his face, "Are you here to watch or work?" He was pouring some water into a bowl with casting powder in it.

Well, work of course! I hastily put down my kit and take out a pair of gloves. "Do you want me to start processing?"

"No," he said, casually, "Danny's got that covered." He nodded his head, indicating a person standing behind me.

I turned to meet the person.

"That'd me, Danny Messer. How ya doin'?" He was obviously a native new yorker, if the accent was any indication. I couldn't tell if he was giving me a sincere smile, or a smirk.

At first glance, I never would have thought that man would be a cop, much less a crime scene investigator. Back in Bozeman, all the officers seemed to have disturbingly similar features; Stern face, hard eyes, neatly kept hair, and they were always professionally dressed. From what I'd seen so far in New York, the standard seemed to still apply. This guy however, had a puppy-dog face and soft brown eyes, hidden behind stylish glasses. His hair seemed to be spiked up in some places and lay flat in the others (although she had to admit, the look fit him). He wore what appeared to be a white wife beater, underneath a nice dress shirt and to top it all off, a rather worn looking leather jacket. He had latex gloves on and was gripping a camera.

"Hi" I said, slightly unsteady. I was still not sure what to think of this man.

I looked back when Mac spoke up once again, "I'll need you to hold the tiger's jaws so that I can get the dental impression." My eyes widened a bit at his request.

I felt Danny lean in closer to me, speaking reassuringly, "Jus' take a deep breath, don't let 'im know yer afraid, 'cause he can sense when yer nervous."

I replied back to him, "The tiger's tranquilized." I looked back at him, "I think I can handle it."

He leaned in again, "I was talkin' 'bout Mac." His seemed dead serious. He began to walk away, and then, as if an afterthought turned back and said "An' make sure ya call 'im 'sir'." I turned, only to see him wandering off, supposedly in search of evidence.

I walked through the employees' entrance to the enclosure and knelt down next to my newly acquainted boss. I grabbed the tiger's jaws, prying them open. Suddenly, Danny's words came back to me. And in spite of them (or maybe because of them), I was suddenly very nervous.

'Oh no, ' I thought to myself, 'don't go spouting random facts like you always do when you're nervous'.

He was just placing the casting material in the tiger's mouth as I let it slip out. "You know, petting a cat has been scientifically proven to lower your blood pressure?"

He looked at me, one eye brow raised, "Maybe our vic heard the same thing." Was he patronizing me, or just being nice? I couldn't tell.

'Just shut up, already!' I berated myself. Mac was now pressing the tiger's paw into a foam mold. I still couldn't stop, "Tiger's stripes are like fingerprints, no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes." He was looking at me, quizzically this time.

'Stop talking!' My mouth kept going though, "Females range eight to nine feet long..." He continued to stare at me. "Sorry sir, I recite meaningless trivia when I'm nervous."

"This is a male." he said pointedly, gesturing toward the lower half of the feline's anatomy. I glanced over, a blush burning my cheeks.

"Right, should have checked first, sir."

Looking back down at the task at hand, Mac said one more thing, "And don't call me 'sir'."

I looked over my shoulder. I could see Detective Messer standing there, pretending that he had not been listening. I could tell he was holding in his laughter.

'What the hell?' I thought.

About two hours later, I found myself still in the tiger enclosure. The large cats had been relocated to a safer location. Danny, after returning from questioning people, as well as a tall, blue-eyed detective, who had politely introduced himself as Don Flack had joined us. I found myself shooting angry glares in Danny's general direction every few minutes. I listened closely as Danny informed Mac of what he had learned, while questioning the staff and patrons of the zoo. I was crouching in the dirt, examining some of the body parts that the tigers had not gotten a chance to eat. Mac was busy at the top of a ladder, which was leaning against the fake rocks. Danny was stabilizing the bottom of the ladder, as a precaution.

"I've got blood trace" Mac said in a monotone voice.

"Nice," said Danny, enthusiastically. "I got the curator gettin' us the list of all the people who have access to the zoo after hours. Like the vets, feeders, security... Not includin' the nut jobs who sneak in from the river though."

Mac responded quickly, "We need to have the curator have his crew save anything the tiger passes and get to down to us."

"Passes?" I asked, worriedly. Surely Mac didn't mean...

Danny interrupted my thoughts. "Passes... I'm sure ya never seen anythin' like that that up in _Montana__._"

I didn't miss a beat, "Ever seen what a full-grown black bear can do to a person?"

He lat loose a soft chuckle.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

He was cut off by the alarm on his wrist watch. He looked down at it, a frown marring his face. He sighed, "Damnit" He looked up at Mac, "Hey, boss." Mac looked down at his employee. Danny pointed a finger at his watch. Mac nodded, with an understanding look.

"It's alright, Danny, I think we've got it from here. You can go." said Mac gently.

I watched all this happen, and the detective in me was ashamed to say that I had no idea what was going on.

Danny let out another sigh. "I'll be back at the lab as soon as I can." Lindsay could tell he was frustrated.

"We know, Danny, go ahead. We'll see ya later" Detective Flack told him. He to had an understanding expression on his face.

'What the hell? Where is Danny going?' I thought. I wasn't angry or anything. Just curious. Especially since Danny, for the first time since I met him, looked sad.

Danny nodded. He took off his gloves, picked up his kit, and walked quickly toward his department issue SUV.

I couldn't stand being in the dark anymore. "Where's he going?"

"None o' yer business" snapped Flack, in a rather defensive tone. My face adopted a hurt look. Don sighed, "Sorry." he apologized.

Mac chimed in, "It's kind of a personal matter, Lindsay. You should probably just leave it alone."

I nodded. It's not like I was going to contradict my new supervisor on my first day.

I looked again in the direction Danny had driven off to. How mysterious.

"Let's finish up here. Then we can go to the lab and we can introduce you to the rest of our team."

I nodded again, getting back to work.

-

For those of you who are reading my other story, 'Entanglement', don't worry, I'm not abandoning it or anything. An idea just popped into my head and I had to start a story before I forgot it. (I'm quite forgetful)

Please review!!


	2. Just You Wait and See

This chapter is rather short

I hope you enjoy it!!

-

**Chapter Two: Just You Wait and See**

After processing for about another hour or so, Mac announced to me that it was time to pack it in and head back to the lab. Flack had left about a half an hour earlier, leaving us with a couple of unis to keep an eye on the crime scene.

Danny had yet to make a re-appearance.

Once Mac and I got to the lab, he told me that before I started anything with the evidence, I should get a tour of the facility first. I followed Mac as he walked up to pretty, curly-haired woman.

"Stel?" he asked, "This is Lindsay," he gestured at me, "Do you think you could give her a short tour of the lab? I would, but I need to complete some paper work."

Stella nodded.

"Great," he said. As he was walking away, he added, "Lindsay, as soon as Stella is done with you, you can begin where ever you want with the evidence. Just make sure you inform me of anything you might find out."

"Okay." I said.

"Come on, kiddo, there's a lot to see." said Stella.

Smiling, I followed her.

Stella first took me to the morgue, where I met Dr. Sheldon Hawkes and Dr. Sid Hammerback. Both seemed like very nice men, though Sid was kind of creepy. Next we went to DNA. I had been prepared to be amazed at how technologically savvy this lab would be compared to the one in Bozeman, but I couldn't help but stare, slack-jawed for several moments at how advanced just that single lab was. Next was trace, which was also quite impressive in terms of technology. That is where I met Adam Ross. Stella had nearly made him fall out of his chair when she said his name. Apparently, he is quite jumpy. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I encounter him. After saying goodbye to Adam, we went to the ballistics lab. This lab was much like the ballistics lab in Bozeman. Though I don't recall there being AK47s present in any of our cases. Lastly, Stella pointed out the layout rooms, as well as the evidence storage room.

"Well," Stella said, "I guess you probably want to get back to work now." She pointed into one of the layout rooms, "The evidence for the zoo case should already be in there. Have fun." With that, Stella turned around and started walking away, but she stopped and turned back, "Lindsay, if you need anything, just ask, okay?"

I smiled, "I will. Thanks Stella."

I walked into the layout room and got to work.

* * *

-

I had been working for almost an hour. I was proud to admit that I had already found several trace materials on the victim's clothes. I was _not_ proud however, to admit that I needed help in finding some more lift tape. 'Where the hell is it?' I thought as I searched through the numerous drawers and cabinets.

I turned toward the door when I heard some one walk in. I was surprised to see Danny. He looked pale. I was actually worried for a moment, but then I remembered the joke he had played on me at the zoo. I just stood there, watching him.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"No. Thank you. You helped enough already this morning." I replied.

He actually had the nerve to look innocent. "Oookay" he said. He found himself a seat and began studying the tape that had been found encircling the vic's wrist.

I was finally able to find the lift tape. As I walked back to my evidence, I couldn't stop the question from slipping out. I was just so curious. "So... where did you run off to earlier?"

I was shocked to see Danny look back at me with what seemed to be anger. "That's none o' yer concern." he said.

I stepped back from him, surprised by his reaction to such a simple question, but I still pressed on, "That's what Don and Mac told me." I said, "I was just curious where you went."

He looked at me again, "Don an' Mac are both smart guys... Ya should listen to 'em." With that, he stood up from his seat, gently picked up the piece of evidence and walked away.

'What the hell was that?' I wondered.

I watched as Danny settled himself onto a stool in one of the other layout rooms. I actually felt kind of bad. Danny obviously didn't want to tell me where he had gone.

I found myself listing all of the plausible reasons Danny had had to leave so abruptly.

He had a wife and child at home who needed tending to... no, I didn't notice a ring. And besides, Messer doesn't really seem like the type to settle down.

He had a doctor's appointment... no, if it were something like that, he wouldn't have gotten so defensive.

I ran through a couple more scenarios that might have made sense before I ran out. That was when I started coming up with the less plausible and less pleasant ideas.

He was secretly a government agent and he'd had to leave so he could assassinate a traitor... Yeah, right. And Don and Mac knew because they were spies too. I almost laughed out loud at the notion.

He was a mob informant and needed to report some important intel to his boss. Danny _was _Italian right?... That idea had the same problem as the previous one. Mac and Don obviously knew what was going on. I had only known all three men for less then a day, but none of them seemed like they would do anything like that. Plus, it wouldn't explain why Danny's watch had gone off.

Danny was secretly Dr. Jekyll. He had felt himself changing into Mr. Hyde and knew he had to leave before he hurt or even killed some one... now THAT was ridiculous. It didn't explain why Mac and Don knew, or why the watch went off. Plus... It was pure science fiction. I laughed at myself for my wild imagination.

I looked at Danny one more time through the transparent walls. 'I will figure out what you're hiding, Messer... Just you wait and see.'

-

Please review!! :)


	3. Need Mac

Thank you to anyone who reviewed. :) ;) ;D

_**Catty**_, No, You will not have to wait too long. I wouldn't want to be responsible for causing you any health problems. :)... By the way, I absolutely LOVED your review. I was laughing out loud at your description of Danny.

also...

_**dannymesserforever11**_, now that I go back and read it, you're right, Flack does seem kind of out of character at that point. Just remember, they didn't really know Lindsay yet, so they were just trying to protect Danny.

Bunch of drama in this one

Hope you enjoy it!!

-

**Chapter Three: Need Mac**

*_four weeks later*_

'This is getting ridiculous.' I thought to myself, as I watched Danny walk away from a crime scene, once again. Mac had paired the two of us together, telling us we worked well as a team. He was right. We really did work quite well together. It seemed like everything I lacked in, he was an expert. And it seemed to go both ways. Anything Danny seemed to have trouble with, I always excelled in. It truly was a perfect partnership. We even got our own office together.

This, incidentally, made it much easier to mentally catalog each of Danny's departures as well as the time of his return.

I had noticed a pattern. I had been quite proud of myself when I realized that Danny's watch went off twice during our normal working hours, without fail. Once at around 11 am and again approximately eight hours later, around 7 pm. Upon noticing this, I decided that he must do this... _thing_ three times a day, every eight hours. After he left, I wouldn't see him again for at least half an hour. He had stayed gone for nearly three hours one time. I stopped asking what the deal was. The first week, I had asked every member of the team. Hawkes and Sid had seemed truly clueless. They were obviously out of the loop. I asked Don and Mac again, but they had remained tight-lipped. Adam, the admittedly adorable lab tech had nearly fallen out of his chair when she had brought the answer to him. He quickly tried to cover, saying that he had slipped and that he had know idea what she was talking about. I had seen _something _in Stella's eyes shift when I had asked her. She had told me that it was personal. It's not so much that I don't believe it's not personal, as much as the fact that they all said it the exact same way. Had they been following some sort of script?

Something else I had noticed; Danny didn't look too good. His skin had become rather pale, although he had been rather fare-skinned when we had met. He also seemed kind of jumpy. I would sometimes notice his hands were trembling while we processed a scene. My mind traveled back to one of the less plausible reasons for Danny's abrupt departures; drugs. I kept imagining Danny sitting in an alley somewhere, shooting up. He would return once the high diminished. Mac, Stella, Stella, Don, and Adam may just be trying to keep his reputation as a cop clean. I could understand that. Addiction could do horrible things to good people. "It all fits," I said to myself.

I decided to wait for him to get back. I was going to confront him about this thing. I just felt the need to know. In fact, I had grown to know Danny over the past few weeks. I had even learned to like the way he called her 'Montana' and our playful bickering. If Danny really was addicted to something, I only wanted to help. I was worried about him.

* * *

*a_n hour later*_

I was walking up to the receptionist's desk to ask Judy if I had any messages. I had almost reached my destination when I saw him just as he came through the large glass doors of the crime lab's main entrance. I walked purposefully toward him, only to stop dead in my tracks.

His gait was slow, head bowed; his whole body trembled as he seemed to struggle to move another inch. I quickly walked to his side, trying not to attract attention. I took his arm, giving him a small amount of support. He raised his head at the contact. I gasped. His face was so pale. It looked like some one had thrown a hand full of flour in his face, and it had simply adhered to his skin. What scared me even more though, was what I saw in his eyes...

Fear.

I had seen Danny angry, upset, frustrated, and so many other emotions. But I had never seen fear. Not _ever_.

"I need Mac," he said, his voice a wavering whisper.

I nodded, putting my hand on his shoulder. He looked like he was going to collapse. I didn't want to leave him, but he seemed desperate. "I'll go get him, okay Danny?" I went to search for the head detective, but a weak grip on my arm halted my efforts.

"No," he said, "No one can see this, please, Lindsay... can you help me... to his office?" He was gasping slightly now, as if the effort of saying those few words had depleted his last bits of energy.

I answered quickly, "Alright, Danny." I wrapped my right arm firmly around his waist; my left arm gripped his shoulder. 'No one can see _what?_ What did Danny think was going to happen?' I wondered as we slowly made our way through the halls. I could feel people watching us. Danny didn't seem to notice. He just wanted Mac. What exactly could Mac do anyways? He was a very talented man, but he could not provide Danny with the medical attention he needed. Danny needed to go to the hospital. Whether this was drugs or something else completely.

They had finally reached the door to Mac's office. Danny had started wheezing and he was clutching at his chest in pain. I could see our boss at his desk, concentrated completely on some forms he was filling out.

When I managed to open the door without letting Danny fall to the floor, he looked up at us. Whatever feeling he'd had about the tedious paperwork quickly vanished as he looked at Danny. It was replaced with shock, worry, and an immense fear.

"Danny." He shot up from his desk, rushing toward us. We both helped him sit down on Mac's leather couch, His head fell back. He was still wheezing. His fingers were tangled up in his shirt, as he pressed his writhing hands against his chest trying to rid himself of the pain. Mac sat down on the table across from Danny. their knees almost touching.

"Danny." he said again. I couldn't help but think that he sounded like a terrified father. Danny didn't respond. "Danny! Look at me" he said, more forcefully this time. Danny's trembling seemed to abate by a small amount. He lifted his head, weakly, to look at Mac. The head detective brought up both of his hands to grasp Danny's face, gently. "Listen carefully, Danny, focus. I need you to tell me, did you run out of medication?" Danny opened his mouth to answer, but his shallow breathing made it impossible, instead, he nodded his head up and down.

'Medication?' I wondered, 'Is Danny sick?'

"Okay, hold on." I watched in silence as Mac ran quickly over to his desk. He tore open one of the drawers, immediately finding what he was looking for. As he headed back over to Danny, He turned to me, "Lindsay, call an ambulance. These" he held up the orange prescription bottle, "will hold off the worst of the symptoms, but with an episode this severe, he needs to go to the hospital" I nodded my understanding. I took out my cell and punched in the three digits. We both looked over when we heard a loud groan from Danny. I was about to ask what was wrong, but Mac seemed to know what Danny was trying to communicate. "Danny, I know you hate the hospital, but this is a bad one. You need to see Dr. Saheed." Danny sighed in defeat. Mac smiled at the small victory as he poured two of the small white tablets into the palm of his hand.

I told the operator our situation and location before hanging up. I watched in complete silence as Danny struggled to swallow the two small pills. Mac brought a bottle of water to his mouth, allowing him to take a small sip.

Within minutes, the medicine started to take affect and the... _whatever it had been..._ seemed to get better. Danny's skin remained white as snow, but his breathing seemed less labored. Though he still clutched his chest in pain, his face was no longer the picture of agony. In fact, when he opened his eyes, he looked almost calm. Almost.

His eyes drifted around the room. They finally landed on me. Not knowing what else to do, I smiled gently at him. I wanted him to know that I was there to help.

Giving me a very weak smile in return, he leaned his head back again and finally let his eyes close.

I turned the other direction when I heard a commotion coming from out in the hall. I saw the lab techs and other investigators talking amongst each other as a stretcher, pushed by two paramedics headed toward Mac's office.

I saw Stella, Adam, and Don, all standing next one another. They appeared to be the only ones in the entire lab who didn't have shock in their expressions. They were all scared, yes, but not shocked. 'Because they knew that this had been coming.' I told myself. I stared at them as tears ran down her face. Stella quickly walked towards me with Flack and Adam right behind her. Stella wrapped her arms around me in a warm embraced. All four of us, not to mention the entire staff of the New York Crime lab, fell silent as the paramedics brought Danny out of the office, with Mac in tow, tears in his eyes. The paramedics had inserted an IV for some colorless liquid to leak into Danny's veins. His shirt had been cut open so that they were able to attach electrodes to his chest, which were connected to a heart monitor. There was also an oxygen mask covering most of the lower part of Danny's face. His eyes were closed.

We all continued to watch as Danny was loaded into the back of the ambulance and as Mac climbed in as well. We all saw our supervisor grab Danny's hand and squeeze as he let the tears travel down his face. Then the ambulance doors were slammed shut and the vehicle drove off, leaving us all to stare at nothing.

-

**DUN DUN DUN...**

Can you guess what is wrong with Danny?

I do NOT have a medical degree, so certain aspects of this story may be slightly off. I have however, researched a few things, so I shouldn't be completely wrong. :)

Please review!! :)


	4. Waiting Rooms

I hope you like it!

**Chapter Four; Waiting Rooms**

I hate waiting rooms. They always smell weird. They don't necessarily smell _bad,_ just weird. They always have old magazines that no one actually wants to read, but do anyways. I've always hated waiting rooms, but hospital waiting room are the worst. Usually, when you're in a hospital waiting room, it's a very bad thing. Some one you know is sick, hurt, or dying. Some times they're already dead and you won't know about it until a doctor has the time to come out and tell you.

I looked around at the people sitting around me. Once the ambulance had left, Stella, Adam, Don, and I immediately drove up to the hospital. Once there, we had been told by a nurse that we would need to wait. A few minutes after that, we all watched as Mac was led to the waiting room as well by a nurse. He fell back into the chair next to me and explained to all of us, "They wouldn't let me stay with him." He sounded so desolate. It seemed like Mac really saw Danny as a son.

Until then, I had remained silent. It was partly from shock and partly because I didn't really know _what_ to say. But I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I had to know.

"What's wrong with Danny?" I asked. At the sound of my quiet voice, everyone looked at me. None of them said a word for what seemed like an eternity,

Finally, Flack sighed and answered, "Linds, it's really not our place to tell ya" I was about to speak again when he continued, "Ya deserve to know, but it's Danny's life. He gets to choose."

"Okay." I said. I could understand their dilemma. They obviously wanted me to know, but they knew that it was Danny's decision.

'I can wait.' I told myself, silently.

* * *

It was nearly an hour later when a nurse walked in. She spotted us and walked over.

"I need to speak to Mr. Messer's emergency contact. Is there a Mac Taylor here?" she asked.

Mac immediately lifted himself from his chair. "That's me." he said. "Is Danny alright?"

The nurse looked around at all of us. "Mr. Taylor, could I speak to you in private?"

Mac sighed, "Ma'am, these people are Detective Messer's friends. Anything you want to tell me, you can tell them too."

Hesitating, the nurse finally spoke again, "From what I understand, Mr. Messer's pre-existing condition has worsened. The doctor wants to operate, however Mr. Messer is being quite stubborn. We need his permission to perform the surgery. We were hoping you might be able to convince him." she motioned toward Mac.

Mac looked very frustrated. "Where is he?" he asked.

"I can take to you to his room." said the nurse.

He turned to face all of us. "You guys sat out here. I will tell you every thing I can when I get back."

We all nodded, silently.

He and the nurse walked away.

I know, it's short, but I should be able to post more soon.

The next chapter will be from Mac's POV

Please review!! :)


	5. Can't Lose Him

This chapter is rather short. It is also from Mac's POV. It's really just to show the father/son relationship between Danny and Mac.

I hope you enjoy it! :)

**Chapter Five: Can't Lose Him**

As I followed the nurse down the hall, I realized how much I really hated hospitals. It wasn't just because people go to them to die. It was everything about them. The walls were always a blinding white. The smell of antiseptic was always present in the air. There was always a sense of tragedy in those damned waiting rooms. The fact that I had lost loved one in this very hospital didn't help matters at all.

And now Danny was here… again. I knew this was coming. The doctors _told_ us this would happen. Danny had to be so damn stubborn.

I found myself with tears in my eyes once again.

I can't lose Danny. He is the closest thing I have to a son.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking, the nurse led me through a door, into a small room. I nearly broke down when I saw Danny lying in that bed, but I was able to restrain myself. It wouldn't do him any good to see me freaking out.

Danny's skin was nearly as white as the sheets he was laying on. Danny's heart monitor continued to beep in the background. I wanted to yell at it to shut up. He was hooked up to several IVs, which fed him different drugs to keep him from having another episode. But those drugs wouldn't last forever. If Danny didn't go through with the surgery, he would…

"Heya Mac" Danny said weakly, with a small grin. I wanted to smack that smile off his face. How could he smile at a time like this? A small voice inside my head reminded me that that was how Danny coped with this thing. He would talk about, but he would pretend that it was no big deal. I would play along… for now.

"Hey, Danny." I sat down in the chair beside his bed. I placed my hand on his arm. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh," he replied, gesturing at his surroundings, "not too bad. You an' I both know I'll be outta here by tomorrow."

I looked down, angry, "Danny," I said, still looking down, "This was the worst one yet. You need the surgery."

"No I don't." he said. He looked angry now too. I knew he didn't like talking about it unless it was absolutely necessary, but the fact that Danny was laying in the hospital, looking like he was at death's door made me think that it was definitely an appropriate time to talk about it.

"Danny," I said, "You and I both know what is going to happen if you continue on like this." I couldn't bring myself to actually say the word 'die'.

"Can you send Montana in?" he asked. He seemed to be ignoring my last statement.

I was confused by his question though. "Montana…?"

Danny gave me a weak laugh. "That's Lindsay, Mac. I call Lindsay Montana."

'Ah yes,' I thought. 'I remember now.'

"Okay, Danny." I said, "I'll ask Lindsay to come in, but we are not finished with this conversation."

He didn't respond. I hadn't expected him to. As much as Danny had grown and matured since I first hired him, he could still regress to the childlike stubbornness of a seven year old. Especially when I wanted to talk about his condition. We had been having this same argument for years now... ever since he told me.

I slowly got up and walked out the door, heading toward the waiting room. No one looked up. I quietly walked in and went up to Lindsay.

"Lindsay?" I asked gently. She raised her head at the sound of my voice, as did everyone else.

"Is Danny alright?" she asked. I could hear the fear in her voice.

At that moment, I realized what was going on between Danny and Lindsay. They loved each other. Neither one of them seemed to realize it, but it was clear as day to me. The look Danny had had on his face when he asked for Lindsay had been just like the one I had often worn whenever I thought about Claire. And Lindsay… well, Lindsay was just smitten. I'm not sure if anyone else had noticed, but I didn't become head detective of the most prestigious crime lab in the country for nothing, She wouldn't be willing to admit it for a long time, but despite the initial rockiness between them, she obviously loved him.

"He's okay for now… He'd like to see you, Lindsay." I said.

"Really?" she asked, quietly. She seemed to still be in shock. That didn't surprise me.

"Yeah, come on," I said, "I'll take you to him."

I could feel everyone else watching us as we walked away without another word.

Please review!! :)


	6. Here's the Deal

I feel very good about myself today. I gave blood at this relay for life event. It hurt a little, but I felt like I was helping people. :) :) :)

It's kind of late (for me anyway), but I said I was going to post again tonight, and I'm nothing if not honest. Though never ask my parents about honesty. :P

Very short. I will have some more up in a couple hours or so.

**Chapter Six; Here's the Deal**

As I followed Mac down the hall, I couldn't stop the images that were rushing through my head. I kept imagining myself walking in to see Danny. But I was only a few moments to late. Danny was…

I shook the thoughts from my head. 'I can't think about things like that… not now.'

Finally, we arrived at Danny's room.

Mac opened the door for me and I walked in.

To my relief, Danny was still alive… but I don't think I had ever seen anyone look so sick.

"Hey, Montana." He smiled weakly at me.

I didn't really know how else to respond, "Hey Danny." I _wanted _to yell at him for scaring me like he did, but I figured Mac probably wouldn't approve of me shouting at a man in a hospital bed, even if it hadn't been Danny.

I heard Mac say behind me, "I'll let you two talk." He paused, as though he were contemplating something, "I'll be right outside… if you need anything."

"'Kay, Mac." said Danny.

Once Mac was gone, I couldn't for the life of me think of anything to say. Danny seemed to be having similar problems until his voice cut through the silence.

"Did someone tell ya what was going on?"

I shook my head, but continued to keep my eyes glued to him.

He sighed, "They should have told ya."

I finally spoke up, "Flack told me that it wasn't his place to tell me. He said it was your decision."

He chuckled, "Yeah, that sounds like Don." He looked down at his hands, which were lying in his lap. A silence settled over us once again. I found myself becoming quite annoyed with the incessant beeping coming from the cardiac monitor. But at the same time, if the beeping hadn't been there, I would have had no way to reassure myself that his heart was still beating, that he was still breathing, that he was still alive.

"So…" I said, softly, "Are you going to tell me what's going on? I heard something about a surgery, but I don't know any of the details." I fell silent once again.

"Yeah, C'mere and sit down." he told me, pointing to the chair beside his bed.

I acquiesced and silently sat myself down in the stiff, plastic chair.

"Listen," said Danny, "I really don' like tellin' people 'bout this. The few people I have told… they don' treat me the same anymore." Danny continued rambling, "Even Mac. When I first told him, he didn't even want me goin' out into the field. He was checkin' up on me like every hour. The only reason he doesn't do that any more is because I finally snapped and started cussin' 'im out…" he chuckled, "I thought he was gonna fire me."

I couldn't help but smile at Danny's babbling. I could tell he was nervous. "Don't worry, Danny," I reassured him, "I would never treat you differently."

"I know that." He said quickly, "But it's not just that… I just… don't like feelin' weak."

"Oh Danny," I said, grabbing his hand, "You're one of the strongest people I've ever met."

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course."

He gave me what I imagined was the biggest smile he could manage.

"You know," I said, "the suspense is killing me." I said, only half joking.

His smile faded and he let out a deep breath. "Okay… Here's the deal…"

**-1-1-1-1**

(evil laugh) I promise guys, the next chapter tells you what's actually going on. I've just been trying to draw it out as long as possib;e to frustrate the readers... did it work?

Please review!! :)


	7. Telling Her

I felt bad about leaving you guys with such a cliff hanger. So here's the next chapter. :) :P :D

I hope you enjoy it!! :)

**Chapter Seven; Telling Her**

"It's my heart."

"What?" I asked. It wasn't that I was confused, per se, but I had expected a little more detail than that.

"Okay, um..." he began again, "I should probably start at the beginning. About four years ago, I was workin' this scene. Some kid had found a dead body in an alley on his way home from school. Me an' Mac get there an' it seemed like a regular crime scene. Nothin' notable about the vic or the circumstances. The body was only like a few yards from the mouth of the alley and some uni had told us that the place had been cleared. So I went to check out the rest of the alley. I was almost to the end when this guy popped outta nowhere." he paused in his story. I guess he noticed how worried I looked. "Don' worry, Montana, the guy didn't hurt me or nothin'. He saw me an' bolted. I figured he was our killer, or at least a witness, so I chased after 'im. The guy raced to the end of the alley an' hopped over the fence. I yelled behind me, tellin' Mac and the others that there was a suspect still on location, and then I jumped over the fence too. Now, let me tell ya, Montana, this dude looked like a frickin' junkie, but he ran like a god damned marathoner. I chased 'im a block or so and my chest started to hurt, but I figured it was normal, right? I didn't even give it a second thought. I could hear Mac and a bunch of unis just a few yards behinds me. I kept goin'. After another block or two, I was still right behind the guy, but then I felt this pain shoot through my arm. All of a sudden, I could barely breathe. I fell. The other guys kept goin' after the perp. Mac stopped to make sure I was alright. I'd already been lyin' there for a few seconds an' I still couldn't breathe. Mac called EMS. He thought I had cracked a rib when I fell or somethin' like that." Danny paused again and looked me directly in the eye. "Right before the paramedics got there,... My uh... my heart stopped." My eyes opened in shock, but he continued. "A uni told me what had happened once I was out. Apparently, by the time EMS got there, Mac was freakin' out. He'd started CPR. The docs in the ER said that Mac saved my life."

I smiled at that. I knew now why Danny and Mac had such a close relationship. Who wouldn't form a bond over something like that?

"They made me stay in the hospital for almost two weeks. Docs ran like a hundred tests, but no one could figure it out. I was about to sign myself out AMA when I met Dr. Saheed. He was the only one that actually sat down with me an' talked. Ya should meet 'im, he's a great guy. Anyways he finally figured it out." he looked at me, as if he were done with his explanation.

"_And?_" I prompted him to go on, "C'mon, Danny. You're killing me here. What did he say was wrong?"

He chuckled at my obvious impatience, "_And..._" he said, mocking me, "he said he'd never seen anythin' like it. Apparently I got this electrical problem. Dr. Saheed said it was kinda like epilepsy, but instead of me shakin' all over the place, it's just one of the chambers of my heart." he chuckled again, "He said I was 'one of a kind'. I think my case has been in like seven different medical journals. I guess I'm famous now, huh?"

I couldn't speak for a few moments, and when I finally found my voice the only thing that I could think to ask was, "So where the hell do you run off to every eight hours?"

"Oh, yeah." he said. "That's for the medication. It's called chlordiaze-something-or-other, mixed with some other drug I don't know how to pronounce. It's just a pill, but it's made up of a really strong sedative to make sure my heart doesn't go into overdrive. Because of that, I don't really like to be around people when I take it. I usually become really lethargic and basically just fall asleep for a little while. Once I wake up though, I usually feel fine."

"Danny, you have no idea how glad I am to hear this." I said, without thinking.

"What?" he asked. He seemed to understand that I had not meant it in the way it had sounded.

I looked down embarrassed, "Well, every time you ran off, I would always get these crazy ideas as to where you went or what you were doing."

"Like what?"

"Like... um... well like you were a government spy." I said quietly. "Or that you were addicted to some sort of drug." I paused again, "Or that you were an informant for the mob." I left out my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde idea.

Danny burst out laughing. I was kind of worried that a nurse would come in and yell at us for being so loud. "Ya know," he said, tears of laughter still in his eyes, "Yer not the first to accuse me of that last one."

"Some one actually accused you of being an informant for the mob?" he nodded, "Who?" I asked.

"Well, my family ain't exactly the most innocent group of people in the world. An' everyone was suspicious of me when I first started at CSI. But it was Flack, believe it or not, who actually said it aloud. I was kinda hurt that he didn't trust me, but I had only known 'im about six months at that point. 'Sides, Flack's been my best friend for a while now. Especially after I told 'im about all this." he motioned around himself.

I nodded my understanding. At this point, there was really only one other thing I wanted to know. "So what are they going to do?" I asked.

"What do ya mean?"

"I _mean _that this medication obviously isn't working very well if you're still getting these episodes. I've heard a couple people say something about a surgery. What about that?"

Danny started to look uncomfortable. "Dr. Saheed said that, hypothetically, if I were to get a new heart, the episodes and all the other side effects would go away, but... it' just a shot in the dark. Like I said before, no one's ever seen anythin' like this before. It doesn't even have a name. He's not sure if the procedure would cure me or kill me. And even if it worked... chances are I wouldn't be allowed to work at the lab any more. Or at least not in the field. I've been doin' fine for the last couple years with just the meds"

"Danny," I said, "Think about this for a second. This is your _life_ we're talking about. And you're lying in a fricking hospital bed. The meds obviously aren't working all that well." I gave him a hard look and said.

"I want you to have the surgery."

-1-1-1-1-

I think it's finally time to reveal what the title actually means... It's Portuguese for fearful heart. I don't know why I picked portuguese, but I thought it sounded cool. Also, I figured it was pretty likely that the meaning would be leaked a whole lot quicker if I had done it in german, french, or spanish.

Yes, those of you that guessed heart disease/disorder were correct. Congrats.

I don't have anything else really typed up yet, so it may be a couple of days until the next post (Or it may be tomorrow, if I'm feeling inspired). The same goes for my other story, 'Entanglement'.

Please review!! :) :)


	8. No

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Some of them made me laugh, others made me blush. They were great!!!

I hope you enjoy it!! :)

**Chapter Eight; No**

"No."

I stared at him for a few seconds. How could he just say 'no'? "Danny," I said, "Please, I haven't known you very long, but I think I know you well enough to know that you don't want to die. But that is exactly what's going to happen if you don't do this."

Danny let his head fall back onto his pillow and let out a bitter laugh. "This is why Mac let me see you." he laughed again, "He knew that once you knew about this whole thing, you would try to convince me to do the surgery... God, I can't believe him." He didn't look angry, but I could tell he was frustrated with our supervisor.

"Mac let me see you because you asked to. And besides, he's just worried about you." I remembered the fear I saw in Mac's eyes when he had first seen us as I had helped Danny to his office. "He was terrified, actually."

Danny looked back up at me, "I know that, Montana. You shoulda seen him when he first found out about this whole thing though. Doc had given me orders to take the meds every eight hours, and it wasn't like I wasn't goin' to do it, but Mac... No matter where I was, he would track me down and make sure I had taken it. And it took me four frickin' months to convince 'im to let me back into the field. Even now, he won't let me carry the heavy boxes of evidence! It's ridiculous."

I giggled at his short rant. Thinking back, I could clearly remember that happening. Mac, Danny, and I had been at a crime scene. Danny had just picked up one of the boxes of evidence. All of a sudden, Mac rushed up and grabbed the box. I could remember being confused about the whole event. I focused back on Danny. He was looking down again.

"Look, Lindsay," I raised my eyebrows. The only time I had ever heard him call me by my real name had been the day before, when I had been scared out of my mind that he was about to keel over dead. "My whole life, even when I was a kid, I had to mostly take care of myself. So I always thought I had to be tough. That's one of the reasons I don't like tellin' people that I'm sick. After, they always look at me like I'm about to break. If I get this surgery, everyone's gonna know. People will know I was in the hospital. And when ever anyone sees the scar... They'll know that... that I'm weak."

Suddenly, I couldn't restrain myself. Without thinking, I raised my hand and quickly slapped Danny in the back of the head. Not too hard. Just hard enough to get my point across. "You're being an idiot." I nearly yelled, "You're going to risk your _life_ because you're afraid some one might think you're weak? Who the hell cares what anyone else thinks?" He stared at me, bewildered, rubbing the back of his head where I had hit him. I kept going though, "I already told you before, you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. It's one of the reasons I like you so much..." I trailed off. I hadn't meant to say that last part out loud.

Danny looked at me, smirking, "You _like_ me, huh? What are ya, Montana? Six years old?"

I stuttered, trying to correct myself. "I didn't mean it like that... What I meant... I mean..." Danny cut me off by grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I like you too." he said, quietly, smiling.

"Really?" I asked.

"'Course I do. I never met anyone like you before." he brought my hand up with his and laid it on his chest. Smiling, I quietly scooted my chair as close to the bed as possible and laid my head on his chest, avoiding the medical wires. I was too tired to discuss our aparently blossoming relationship, and based on his increasingly drooping eyelids, so was he.

I let his steady heart beat lull me almost to sleep. But before I let my eyes close, I said one more thing, "Please Danny. Please get the surgery."

There was a short period of silence when I was scared he would say no again, but after a few moments he finally mumbled out a response. I could tell he was exhausted. "Okay, Montana."

I let out a sigh of relief and let myself fall asleep.

* * *

(Mac's point of view)

I watched as my two detectives talked quietly. I desperately wanted to hear what they were saying. I watched as I saw several emotions flash across Lindsay's face. I nearly laughed when Lindsay hit Danny upside the head. I had been wanting to do that for the longest time. I actually did laugh at Danny's look of surprise.

I watched as Lindsay basically yelled at Danny. I knew what she was yelling about. I had been yelling at Danny for the same thing for years.

Something I hadn't expected though was when Danny grabbed Lindsay's hand and squeezed it. 'I guess it didn't take as long for them to admit their feelings as I thought it would.' I smiled as I saw Lindsay lay her head on Danny's chest. I saw the mouths moving slightly as they both fell asleep. Happiness overwhelmed me as I noticed the expression Danny wore right before nodding off. It was a look of acceptance.

I felt the tears cloud my eyes as I realized what Lindsay had just convinced Danny to do.

**1-1--1-1--1111**

Tell me the truth guys... did this seemed kind of rushed? I mean it's like, all of a sudden they like each other and are willing to admit it. It's hard to tell for me since I wrote it. ;)

Please review!! :) :) :)


	9. Meeting the Doctor

Hello everyone! Sorry about not posting for so long. Life got in the way.

**Chapter Nine: Meeting the Doctor**

After several hours, Danny and I were brought out of our slumber when a doctor walked into the room. I noticed the small smile gracing Danny's lips at the sight of the man. He appeared to be Middle Eastern. He was very tall and flecks of gray sprinkled his dark hair. I decided that this must be Dr. Saheed, the doctor Danny had been talking about.

Giving an exaggerated sigh, the official looking doctor peered at Danny through his glasses and with a very serious tone and said "Mr. Messer, I thought I told you I didn't want to see you here again." the sarcasm was obvious in his voice. He broke out into a small grin. I couldn't help but like the man, especially when I saw the smirk Danny was giving the doctor in return. He was obviously a very easy going guy. "So what's the deal, Danny? Was it random, or did you run out of the pills?"

"Nice to see you too, Doc." Danny said, sarcastically. "And I ran out. I swear, I was keepin' track, but I guess I musta miscounted, 'cause I was just standin' there, in the middle of central park, starin' at an empty prescription bottle." He patted my shoulder, "But Montana here helped me out."

The doctor, apparently only just then noticing me, walked up and shook my hand. "I'm Dr. Saheed, ma'am. I'm Danny's cardiologist. Did he say your name was Montana? That's a very interesting name."

Danny and I both laughed out loud. "No," I said, chuckling, "my name is actually Lindsay, Lindsay Munroe. Danny just calls me 'Montana' to annoy me."

Danny snorted, "You know you love it."

All three of us chuckled. It amazed that we were all able to be so relaxed while Danny was still lying in a hospital bed. Of course, this was probably nothing new for Danny.

Dr. Saheed adopted a more serious tone, "Alright, Danny. You know the drill. You have to stay here for two days. We'll monitor your heartbeat, make sure nothing was damaged by the last episode. The nurses and I will all try and convince you to have the surgery. You'll be stupid and say no. Then you're free to go." Despite his still gentle voice, I could tell that Dr. Saheed was quite frustrated. I surmised that he had probably gone through this with Danny on many different occasions. Dr. Saheed was about to leave the room when Danny stopped him.

"Actually," he said, "I want the surgery."

The doctor froze, mid-stride. He turned around and faced us. "What?" he asked, as though he hadn't understood.

Danny was grinning now, "I said, I want the surgery."

Dr. Saheed's eyes widened. I got the impression that the doctor had not been expecting that. "Danny, that's _wonderful_! I'll put you on the transplant list right away." He turned to walk away again, but turned back once more. "May I ask what made you have this change of heart?" He realized what he had said and started laughing. I couldn't help but crack a smile too. I was a horrible pun, but the fact that it had been accidental made it quite funny.

"Very clever, Doc." said Danny, smiling, "Actually, Lindsay convinced me."

Dr. Saheed looked bewildered. He turned his attention to me. "Ma'am, I've been trying to get this stubborn man to do this surgery for years. I'm curious... what exactly did you do or say to convince him?"

Danny spoke up before I could answer, "She hit me." he dead-panned.

I gave him a playful shove to on the shoulder.

Dr. Saheed laughed.

"Actually," I said, "it wasn't too hard. I think my exact words were 'Danny, I want you to get the surgery'."

The Middle Eastern man's jaw dropped. He looked at Danny. "Messer, several other doctors, nurses and I have been saying the same exact thing for five years now. And I know for a fact that your friends from the crime lab have been doing the same. And I must admit, that boss of yours is kind of scary. Why did are you only just now agreeing?"

Danny smirked, "Well, Doc, none of you guys were hugging me when you asked."

Dr. Saheed let out another bark of laughter, "I honestly don't understand you, Mr. Messer… I am going to put you on the transplant list. You will still need to only stay here at the hospital for two days. It may be a while until we are able to find a viable heart, but once we do, you will be called in, several tests will be performed, and then we will do the transplant. We want to get this done as soon as possible." He smirked again, "The nurses told me that you were being difficult and annoying," he teased, "so we don't want to see you around here much more."

"Feeling's mutual, Doc." said Danny.

With that, Dr. Saheed walked out the door.

With a smile, I wrapped my arms around Danny's shoulders, still being careful not to disturb the IV or other wires. "He seems like a great guy. You're lucky to have him as a doctor"

I saw how Danny's eyes had begun to droop. "Yeah, I know." he told me.

"You know," I said softly, "Mac and the rest of the team will probably want to know about your decision. Would you like me to tell them?"

Despite the fact that he looked exhausted, Danny said "No way. Those guys have been tryin' to get me to do this thing for such a long time. I wanna see the looks on their faces when they find out. Can you ask them all to come in?"

I smiled. "Sure," I said, "I'll be right back."

I gently crawled off the hospital bed and walked out the door. I headed toward the waiting room where Mac, Stella, Flack and Adam were sitting, a big smile on my face.

**Next chapter will be kinda mushy. **

**Just so you all know, this is NOT a real medical condition, not that I know of anyways. Despite that, I will still try to be as accurate as possible when depicting medical procedures, ie, the transplant.**

**Please Review!**


	10. Announcement

Just so you all know, there is more suspense coming up.

I hope you all enjoy it!

**Chapter Ten: Announcements**

I watched as everyone lifted themselves up from their seats as I entered the waiting room. Mac had been standing in the corner. He looked oddly happy.

"Everyone," I said quietly, trying not to disturb the other people in the waiting room, "Danny said he'd like to see you all. He wants to tell you guys something."

That seemed to make everyone smile just a little bit. They all left their coats and followed me down to Danny's room. Everyone filed into the room with blank faces. They didn't seem to know what exactly to expect. I noticed Mac was still smiling though. What was going on with him?

Danny was still awake, but just barely. Despite his obvious exhaustion, he smiled at all of us as we entered the room and gathered around his bed.

"Hey, guys." He said, "I asked Lindsay to bring you all in here so that I could announce something… I'm going to get the transplant."

There was a moment of complete silence except for the continuously beeping heart monitor, then everyone spoke at once. I heard several 'Thank God's and few 'Finally's thrown in as well. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces.

Flack walked up and clapped Danny on the back. "It's good to know you've finally found some sense, Danno." he said, still grinning.

I snorted, "Yeah right. I practically had to beat him into agreeing. He's got no sense to speak of." Everyone laughed.

"Hey, Mac," said Danny, looking over to the other side of the room at his mute supervisor, "Ain't ya gonna congratulate me? Or yell for takin' this long to agree? You don't even look surprised."

I grinned when I realized the reason for our boss' calmness. "You already knew." I said.

He stepped forward, now with a bigger grin. I realized that the expression he had been wearing before in the waiting room had not actually been happiness, it was relief.

"When I said I would be right outside the room, I wasn't kidding." he said, almost mischievously.

"Did Dr. Saheed say anything else?" asked Stella, "When's the surgery going to be? Do you know what all is going to happen before and after it?"

Danny chuckled at Stella's long string of questions, "Doc said it might take a while for a heart to be found. Once one is found, I go through a bunch of tests and then they do the transplant. He said he'd give us all a better description tomorrow. For now, he just wants me to rest."

Hearing this, Mac interrupted, "If you're supposed to be resting, Danny, then we should all go and let you sleep.

Danny nodded slowly. I could tell he was reluctant to admit he was tired. I walked over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be back tomorrow, okay?" I said, "Be nice to the doctors and nurses. Let them do their jobs." He smiled cheekily at me with half closed eyes.

Giving his hand one last squeeze, I walked out the door and made my way home.


	11. What's to Come

**Here's another short one...**

**:)**

**I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Chapter Eleven: What's to Come**

The next morning, I walked into the hospital room to find Danny and Dr, Saheed talking to one another with quiet voices.

"Montana," he said, noticing me walk in, "I'm glad yer here. The Doc was jus' about to explain to me how this whole thing is gonna work. I'd like it if ya were here with me." He stretched out an arm and I sat down on the bed beside him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I was comforted by his warmth.

"Alright," said Dr. Saheed, seeing that we were ready, "here's how this whole thing is going to work; Danny will be released from the hospital for now. We can't really do anything for him until we find a viable heart. Now, it may take weeks, even months to find a match, but once we do, you will be called in immediately." he looked over at Danny, "Once here, we will run several tests to ensure that you are healthy enough to get through the operation. We are also required to run some emotional and psychological tests. If all goes well, you will then be started on some immuno-suppressants. This is so your body will not reject the donor heart. Hopefully, within a day or two of finding the heart, you will be sent into the OR. Now there are obviously some risks with this surgery, as there are with any procedure, but what we really need to be careful about is infection after the fact. If everything runs smoothly in the OR, you will be kept here at the hospital for at least six of those weeks, you will need to stay in a clean, germ-free room. We will need to limit the amount of visitors you have to decrease the chance of contamination. Knowing your friends, Danny, that will be a difficult task. But the immuno-suppressants that you will have been given will make your immune system very weak and very susceptible to infection, so it's best that we stay on the safe side. After that, you will be transferred to a regular room. Barring any complications, Danny, you should be in and out of here in less than two months."

"An' then it's back to fightin' crime and chasin' down perps, right?" asked Danny. I could tell he was only half joking.

Dr. Saheed looked sternly down at the man sitting next to me, "Now, Danny, I said you'd be out of here within two months. That does not mean you will be back to full strength by then. I would suggest taking off _at least _a year before even thinking about returning to work. And that is not up for negotiation. I'll be speaking to that scary boss of yours about this too to make sure he knows about it. The medications you'll be on alone will be enough to knock you out for most of the day. Not to mention the weakness, nausea, and lethargy that follows such a major operation. And you'll need some one to stay with you... or you need to stay with some one." He looked at me pointedly, "I'm guessing that won't be a problem?"

I smiled, "Of course not."

I felt Danny give my shoulder a squeeze. I gave him one right back.

Dr. Saheed gave us both a warm smile. "Danny, I already gave you my number. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I've informed Nurse Rita that you are to be discharged. She should be here fairly soon."

"Alright, Doc. I'll talk to ya later."

Dr. Saheed gave us another smile and a brief wave before turning and walking out the door.

As soon as he was gone, Danny turned to me and asked, "Are ya sure it's okay I stay with ya after the surgery? I mean, from what the doc said, I think I'm gonna be pretty out of it for a while. I might not be very good company."

I scoffed. How could he even ask that? Even if we hadn't just admitted our feelings to each other, Danny was still a friend. "Don't be stupid Messer. Of course you're staying with me."

He smiled and pulled me closer to his body. I nuzzled his neck. I could still smell his cologne, despite the fact that he hadn't actually put any on in a couple days.

"Thank you for doing this." I said.

"Thanks for staying by my side." he replied, giving me a chaste kiss on the lips.

I snuggled even closer to his warm body and closed my eyes, breathing in his scent.

**I will be incorporating one other episode the next chapter(s). I'll let you guys try to guess which one. :P (Hint, there will be suspense.)**

**Please Review!**


	12. Calamity Day

Here's another chapter. I am quite happy with the amount of feedback I've received for this story. Thanks a lot, you guys!

I'm very excited to write the next couple chapters and hopefully, there won't be as much time in between posts as there has been recently. (Sorry 'bout that)

I hope you all enjoy it!

**NYNYNYNY**

**Chapter Twelve: Calamity Day**

*nine months later*

I was woken up by a weird sensation. It almost felt like some one had poked me in the nose. What the hell? As my mind cleared, I became more aware of my surroundings. What I was laying my head on was definitely not my pillow and the material I could feel beneath me was certainly not the sheets I had put on my mattress only a couple days ago. My sheets are silk (well, okay, they're fake silk), this was more like felt.

I slowly opened my eyes to try to figure where I was.

Then I smiled.

The pillow I had been wondering about only moments ago turned out to be the bare chest of my partner, friend, and boyfriend, Danny Messer. He was smiling down at me sleepily. Suddenly, I remembered where we were as well; the pool table. Memories from the night before flooded my mind and made me smile.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he replied, his accent noticeably stronger than usual. I had noticed that that happened when he was still sleepy.

"What time is it?" I asked, almost whispering. We both had to be at work today. I could feel his hand rubbing back and forth on my shoulder.

"It's early." he answered, obviously not wanting the moment to end. In all honesty, neither did I. I couldn't remember ever being this comfortable in my life.

I turned my head and muttered into his warm chest, "Our shifts start at nine." Ever since I had been let into the loop about Danny's condition, Mac had scheduled us to have the same shifts. Danny had been slightly peeved at first. He thought Mac was being over-protective, that he had only sent me to keep an eye on him. And truthfully, I think that's exactly why Mac did it. Eventually though, Danny came to see the brighter side of the situation, i.e., being with me all day. And I was ecstatic that I was getting to spend so much time with my boyfriend, even if it was while we were working. If I read him him correctly, he was quite pleased with the situation too.

I let out a breathy laugh, remembering something that I had dreamt, "I dreamt that I woke up and you were gone," I revealed, still mumbling into his chest. "You left a note." I looked up at him, expecting him to scoff at the idea and tell me that he would never do that. He _did _scoff, but the response I got was not exactly what I had been expecting.

"Where would I go?" he asked, his brows furrowed, "This is my place." There was a brief pause before he broke out into a sarcastic grin. I grinned back at him and brought my finger up to his chin in an endearing fashion.

"I was hoping for a better answer" I said, smiling at his silliness.

His hand drifted over to my cheek and started drawing lazy circles. "I'm just kiddin'." he said, placing his hand once more on my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. The extra heat was beginning to lull me to sleep. "I'm glad this happened." he said quietly. I smiled. I wasn't really sure if he was talking about last night, telling me his secret, or meeting me at all. But I wasn't about to question him.

"Jus' go back to sleep, Montana. I'll wake ya up in time for our shifts."

I had almost let my eyelids close again when I realized what Danny was doing. I sat up abruptly. "Oh, no you don't, Messer. That's not going to work this time. We need to get to the lab by nine. We can't fall back asleep. We can't be late again." I admonished him. He stared up at me, still smiling, with heavily-lidded eyes. I gave him a light shove. He grunted and then rolled away from me, letting out a loud, exaggerated groan.

"Five more minutes, Montana." he begged, burying his face into the pillow. He sounded just like a child being awakened for school.

I laughed. "Not a chance, cowboy." I said. And with that, I swung my legs over the edge of the pool table and, in one fluid motion, ripped off the comforter that had been covering us both and let it fall to the floor, leaving me in only his t-shirt and him in only a pair of boxers and a rumpled wife beater. He sat up immediately, feeling the sudden cool air on his skin. He let out another childish moan and hopped off the pool table as well.

I decided to explain my decision. "The last time you said 'five more minutes', we ended up being two hours late." I grabbed a throw cushion from the floor and launched it at his head, hitting him square in the face. "Now go shower, get dressed and take your meds. We need to leave pretty soon."

He let out another scoff, but complied with my demands. "Yes, ma'am" he said, mockingly. I grabbed another pillow and threw it at his retreating back as he disappeared into the bathroom.

After we both showered, got dressed and I made sure Danny had taken his medication, we grabbed our things and left for the lab.

And we were only going to be a couple minutes late. Mac would be pleased.

* * *

"Do you have your pills?" I asked. We were both in one of the department's many SUVs, making our way to a warehouse where a drug bust had taken place only a few hours earlier. According to Mac, poor Adam had been there processing for the past six hours all by his lonesome.

"Yeah," he replied casually. He was used to me asking. "They're in my kit." he gestured toward his field kit sitting in the back seat.

"Good." I said. Luckily for him, there hadn't been any real problems in the last nine months. Several weeks ago, he'd had some minor chest pain. Admittedly, I freaked out. I wanted to call an ambulance. He had explained to me that it was completely normal for it to hurt a little bit every once in a while. But I hadn't been totally satisfied until Mac had confirmed Danny's claim. I'm still kind of scared about him having another episode. What if he didn't make it? All the hope and planning and preparing for the transplant will have been for nothing. I refuse to let that happen. That's why every time I see him, I examine him carefully, looking for any signs of possible distress; sweating, shaking, paleness.

He turned to me from the driver's seat and smiled gently before turning his eyes back to the road. Silently, he slid his hand into my lap and grabbed my hand, clasping it gently.

We drove the rest of the way to the warehouse, hands entwined, in a comfortable silence.

**NYNYNYNY**

Okay, so you guys probably know what all is going to happen for the most part, but I am going to try and make it kind of a surprising outcome.

Just so you know, I called this chapter 'Calamity Day' because it's another way to say 'Snow Day' **hintedy hint hint**. In school, snow days and any other days that school has to be canceled for whatever reason are called calamity days. I just thought that was kind of interesting. :P

PS; If any of you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or holes in the story, please tell. I hate that kind of stuff and if it's there, I'd like to fix it. Don't worry, It won't insult me or anything.

Please, please please, please, please... Review!


	13. No More Dumb Moves

I know, I know, I haven't updated in a while (for any of my stories)... but this should at least make up for part of it. :)

Just in case I wasn't entirely clear in the last chapter, Danny has not had the transplant yet. The doctors are still trying to find a heart. From my experience (watching TV) that's actually how it works. A patient the needs a new heart has to wait for the hospital to find a viable heart, but while they wait, they go home and continue on with their lives, waiting and praying for _the call_. But yeah, that's only how I've seen it on TV.

If any of you are confused about something (anything really) just ask. I will try to answer with the best of my ability.

I hope you all like it!

**NYNYNYNY**

**Chapter Thirteen: No More Dumb Moves**

With our kits in hand, Danny and I made our way to the warehouse's entrance. We were no longer holding hands though. Being professional at crime scenes is important for any CSI. Although I kind of doubt Mac would be that upset about it, the press would probably create some huge scandal out of it. I can see it now... 'CSIs overlook evidence because of relationship'.

"Whadya think Adam's found so far?" asked Danny, snapping me out of my musings.

I thought about it a moment. "I honestly don't know." I replied, "I mean the Irish gang is into all sorts of things. Besides the drugs, there's no telling what else might have been going on in there." It was true. The IRA was infamous for so many criminal activities; drugs, money laundering, contract killings, even terrorism. For all we knew, the drug bust could have been a front for something even more sinister.

Danny nodded. "Yeah." he agreed.

We both pushed past the plastic flaps that served as a door for the large warehouse.

Immediately, I knew something was wrong. I looked over to Danny and the expression on his face told me that he felt much the same way.

It was too quiet. Despite the fact that it was only Adam, the lab tech turned CSI was rarely quiet. Usually, in the lab, we would find Adam by following the sound of his voice. And at crime scenes, especially if he thought no one else was around, he would turn on his IPod and start singing aloud to the music. Even if his mouth was closed, Adam seemed to move in such a way that made it almost impossible to sneak up on some one. But I couldn't hear a single thing.

Looking at each other, Danny and I both nodded, understanding the possible danger. We placed our kits on the floor, drew our weapons, and slowly crept forward, turning our heads every which way, looking for intruders.

"Adam." Danny called out, trying to locate the young CSI.

We came to the hood of a big truck and turned the corner. I was slightly confused at what I saw.

There, lying on the floor was Adam's kit, along with about a dozen snubbed out cigarettes.

"Danny," I said quietly, nudging him in the shoulder. He looked over at me and I pointed at the cigarettes.

The worry in his expression became even more pronounced. "Adam!" he called out again, this time a little louder.

Suddenly, we heard a voice. "Hey!" We move forward just a few more steps to see Adam sitting in the back of an empty semi, along with two other officers.

"Danny!" Adam called out frantically. "Danny, Lindsay, look out!" I'd never heard Adam sound so frightened.

Suddenly there were two strong arms wrapped tightly around my torso, trapping my arms. The sudden movement made me drop my gun. I heard it clatter on the cold concrete floor. I could smell the body odor of the man as he held me tightly against his chest. "Get the _hell_ off of me, you bastard!" I yelled, kicking my legs up as he dragged me toward the semi. I heard a muffled thump and I saw Danny fall to the ground, apparently unconscious. His gun hit the ground and skittered several yards away. "Danny!" I yelled and began to struggle even more.

The man whose arms were keeping me captive hissed into my ear, his voice coated with a thick Irish accent "Shut yer face, lass." Fear, overwhelmed me, not only for myself, but for Danny, Adam, and the two officers as well. I looked around frantically, trying to assess our situation. In addition to the man that grabbed me, there were two other men. They were all wielding semi-automatics and they all wore identical navy blue coveralls.

I watched in tearful silence as Danny was hauled up by the two other men and dragged over to the semi. The thug behind me also led me there. Fear kept me silent as I watched the men roughly shove Danny to the floor next to Adam. I let out a soft sound of discomfort as I too was thrown to the ground. I sat up quickly, leaning back against the wall and looked up at our captors. Anger was starting to overcome the fear. They had injured my Danny, and Adam wasn't looking too hot either. If I had still had my weapon, I would be tempted to...

Luckily, the jarring movements seemed to have awakened Danny from his unconsciousness. Adam made a move to help him sit up, but one of the men immediately brought the barrel of his AK-47 up to Adam's face, "Get back against the wall." he said coldly.

Adam nodded quickly, looking down. I took a good look at him. His face had several bloody cuts on it and there were several nasty looking wounds on his hands. The look in his eyes told me that he was absolutely terrified. I didn't really blame him. I watched as one of the men climbed out of the truck and walked away with obvious purpose.

The two other men, figuring that we were not much of a threat, also walked away. I heard one of them murmur to the other, "Keep an eye on these geeks. They shouldn't be a problem." I don't think Danny heard them though. If he had, he probably would have responded with an angry retort at being called a geek. I'm glad he didn't hear them, because I don't think these men are the type to talk back to.

Those revealing Irish accents told me that we were in the presence of the dreaded IRA.

I turned back to Adam and Danny only to find that Danny was now fully awake. He was still lying on his side, propping himself up on his forearms. I could see the smallest amount of blood congealed in the hair on the back of his head. And I recognized the look in his eyes and the way he pressed his lips together tightly. It was a look of anger and determination. I knew he was about to do something stupid. He looked over his shoulder at the two men at the door of the semi. Before I could open my mouth to tell him to just stay still, Danny silently slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out his blackberry.

He looked over his shoulder again to see if he was being watched. I watched as he turned back and began typing a message. If I'd had to guess, I would have said it was an SOS... to Mac, or maybe Don. Adam was looking over at what Danny was doing with hope in his eyes as were the two officers. We all kept quiet, not wanting to attract our captors' attention to Danny's attempt at getting help.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to matter.

"Oi!" All of our heads snapped up at the exclamation. The larger of the two men stormed up and roughly kicked Danny in the side, causing him to once again fall to the ground. The man then raised his AK-47 vertically and brought the butt of the gun down on Danny's hand. I was barely able to hold back a scream as I heard something crack. Letting out a yell, Danny quickly brought his hand to his chest, holding it with his other hand protectively.

One of the men knelt down, grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, and brought Danny to a sitting position, slamming his back harshly against the wall in the process. He quickly tore his arm out of the man's grip angrily.

The thug got right up into Danny's face. "No more dumb moves. Are we clear?"

Danny looked up defiantly at him. "What the hell do you want?" he was heaving with barely controlled rage. "The drugs are already gone."

The man stood back up, ignoring Danny's question. He raised his foot and for a terrifying moment, I thought he was going to kick Danny again, but instead, he brought his foot down onto Danny's cell phone, smashing it into little tiny pieces.

Without another word, the two men walked out of the back of the truck, still wielding their AK-47s, leaving us alone.

Once they were out of sight, I quickly rushed to Danny's side. "Are you alright?" I asked frantically.

He didn't answer me. His kept his head bowed and his chest continued to heave up and down. I began to get worried. I looked back down at his injured hand and I notice that instead of holding tightly to his broken, mangled fingers, Danny was pressing both hands against his chest.

I gently placed my hand on his shoulder. "Danny? Please talk to me." I whispered.

To my immense relief, he finally raised his head and his eyes traveled up to meet mine. But the relief I felt instantly vanished and my worry morphed into full blown terror.

Over the course of only a couple minutes, all the color had drained from Danny's face. Beads of sweat had already started forming on his forehead and a fear that I had only ever witnessed once before was filling his eyes.

No... This can _not _be happening... not here.

**NYNYNYNY**

**Just so you guys know, the more reviews I recieve, the more inspired I am to write. Soooooo yeah... hintedy hint hint. :P**

**If you haven't seen the episode 'Snow Day' before, you can watch it on YouTube. Just type in 'csi ny snow day'. You should also be able to find a video that has just the D/L scenes.**

**Please Review!**


	14. Stay With Me

**Wow! Over two weeks since the last update... I literally wrote this chapter like three different ways until I finally came up with this one.**

**I hope you all like it!**

**Chapter Fourteen: Stay With Me**

This can _not _be happening... not here.

"Danny," I grab his shoulder, trying to get him to focus on what I'm saying, "Where are the pills? Do you have them on you?" Please, please have them with you...

With pain-filled eyes, Danny shakes his head. "No" he winces as another bolt of pain shoots through his chest, "They... uh, they're in my kit." he answers, his voice sounding defeated.

For a moment, my mind goes blank... Where had we left our kits? Then I remember. It was only a few minutes ago that we had set them down on the ground somewhere near the doorway so that we could draw our weapons. I whip my head around and crane my neck, trying to see where we had left them. Maybe, if our captors turn their backs for just a few seconds, I could sneak over there... No, it was just too far away.

"Munroe." I hear a voice say from behind me. I swing my head around to look at the two officers. I'm surprised to realize that I actually know both of them. One is Mark Nielson, from the thirty-third precinct. If I remember correctly, he has a wife and two little girls at home. The other is Richard Billings. He's worked at the twentieth precinct for almost twenty years. No family that I'm aware of, but he's a nice guy. Neither man deserves to be in this situation.

"Munroe?" I hear Nielson's voice say again. It brings me back to reality. "What's wrong with Messer? He okay?" Both men are watching Danny, concern clearly visible in their faces. Each of them has one of their wrists handcuffed to the rail protruding from the wall of the trucking container.

I pause for a moment and look down at Danny. If his past actions are any indication, he doesn't want any more of his coworkers to know about his condition. He's still clutching his chest. His breathing is getting more and more labored by the minute. He looks at me from his slumped position leaning against the wall and shrugs, wincing again at the pain the movement causes. I take it as an okay to let the two officers in on the big secret.

Gently, I place my hand on Danny's shoulder, trying to give him at least the slightest bit of comfort. I look back to the two officers, "Detective Messer has a, uh... he has a... a heart condition." I don't really want to explain any further. Actually, I don't really know know _how _to explain it any further. Since Danny's condition is so unique, it wasn't like I could have just Googled it or read the definition on Wikipedia. Fortunately, both officers look satisfied with my answer, but a look of pity comes to their faces. They both look at Danny, and then back at me. I know Danny wouldn't like the pity.

"Is... Is there something we can do? I mean, can we help?" asks Billings.

I hesitate before answering. "He has some medication that should help... at least until we can get him to the hospital, but it's in his field kit. We both left our kits at the door when we drew our weapons." Both men nod their understanding

Adam speaks up in a quiet voice, "Maybe... we could just, you know, ask them? I mean... to give us the pills. They can't just let him die,... right?" He still sounded terrified.

Danny chuckled then winced at the additional strain it put on his chest. "Adam... it's the... IRA... do ya really... think they'd... care... if I... kicked off?" He's gasping in each breath now.

I can't help but glare at him for referring so casually to his own death. And Adam's right, anyways. These three men were idiotic enough to take two detectives, two officers and an up-and-coming crime scene analyst as their hostages and at a crime scene no less. We aren't called New York's finest for nothing. But they must know that they will soon be going up against the full force of one of the best and most skilled police departments in the country. Knowing that, if they're smart, they wouldn't dare let any of us 'kick off' as Danny so eloquently put it.

Watching Danny carefully, I bite my lip. This is obviously a full blown attack and not just some small episode. If we can't get Danny to a hospital soon, then...

I look over at Adam and give him a small nod. I think he understands what I plan to do, because he nods back and tries to give me a reassuring smile.

"Hey!" I yell loudly, getting the attention of one of the gang members. "Hey, we need some help!"

I feel a hand weakly grip my forearm and look down at Danny.

"Linds, what are...?" he can't even finish the sentence. I brush my hand over the side of his face softly as he continues to gasp in small amounts of oxygen.

I can now see one of the gangsters jumping up into the semi. He doesn't look happy. "Don't worry," I whisper to Danny softly.

Still carrying his gun, the man walks right up to me. "What the hell do you want, lass? We're not in the mood fer any games." He's glaring down at me and I have to fight back a shudder at the coldness in his eyes.

"My- my coworker is... sick. He needs his medication. He left it in his kit... by the door." I say, ashamed that my voice is giving away how scared I am.

He glances over at Danny with an uninterested expression plastered over his face. Then he looks back at me for a second before replying, "Why the hell should we care if yer boyfriend dies?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to control my urge to lash out and punch the man. Maybe they really are that stupid. "We're members of the police department," I try to keep my voice even, "Do you know what will happen to you if one of us dies? If one of us is even injured? The entire NYPD will hunt you down. That's forty-thousand cops looking for you and your buddies... that is, if you even get out of this warehouse without being turned into hamburger meat by a barrage of bullets."

The man doesn't speak for several seconds, his lips press together tightly to form a thin line. I'm honestly not sure whether I've gotten him to see reason or if he's about to blow my head off.

"Fine." he says tightly. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I look back down at Danny and the feeling of relief instantly shifts back to overwhelming worry. His previously pristine dress shirt is now soaked with sweat. His face is contorted in pain, his teeth bared, grinding together- basically the epitome of absolute agony. His hands are trembling so much he can't seem to keep them in one place, not even to clutch his chest in pain and his breaths are now coming in short bursts, making it sound like he's trying to breath through water.

The goon, who I am assuming is the leader of the trio of criminals, looks over his shoulders and yells to his accomplices, "Oi! One a you, go an' get that silver box thing by the door. Bring it 'ere."

I watched in silence as one of the men nodded and jogged away, out of my view. I let my head fall back against the wall and my eyes close. Thank God, Danny's going to get the meds. But we still need to get out of here. Danny really needs a hospital. This whole situation is making _my _heart race. I can only imagine what stress it must be putting on Danny's.

I hear Danny's kit drop to the floor of the semi and slide over to me. I immediately sit up, eyes flying open, and snap open the latches. I grab the orange prescription bottle as quickly as I can and rip off the cap. Pausing to think for a moment, I turn back to the kit and rummage around for a second.

"Yes!" I whisper triumphantly as I pull out a half filled water bottle. Before turning back to Danny, I spot something shiny laying on the bottom of Danny's kit... it's a box cutter. Without moving my head, my eyes travel to try and locate each the gangsters. None of them are watching me...

I reach down, trying not to attract the attention of any of the men. Silently, I grab the handle of the box cutter and gently slide it up the sleeve of my shirt. I make sure the fabric isn't bulging in any suspicious ways before bringing my hand back to my chest. After looking around one last time to ensure that no one saw me, I finally turn back to Danny.

I freeze when I see his face.

Is he...? He's _smirking_! He's obviously still in quite a lot of pain, but through his distress, I can clearly see a smirk gracing his lips.

He looks at me through half-lidded eyes. "Nice... Montana." he nods, gesturing at my arm, where the weapon is concealed beneath the fabric. I give him a small smirk back; the biggest I can muster, given the circumstances.

"I told you," I whisper, "You don't need to worry. Just..." my facade of confidence wavers a little and my expression returns to a mixture of fear and worry, "just... stay with me, okay?" The smirk leaves his face as the pain becomes overwhelming once again, but he nods in response.

"Adam, can you help me sit him up?" I ask.

"Yeah." he answers and quickly shifta himself over to help me prop Danny up to a sitting position, leaning against the wall.

Carefully, I help him swallow two of the small white tablets, followed by a few small sips of water; although the majority of it spills down onto his chin and drips onto his chest.

After a few moments, I can see the drug start to take effect. Danny appears to relax, but I can still sense that he is in pain. To my relief, his breathing also becomes less labored. Danny's eyes open just a little bit more and I am able to see his own relief clearly. Then his eyes shut completely.

"'Anks." he whispers tiredly. I barely hear him.

I know what's happening now. This is the sedative portion of the medication. He's going to fall asleep. There's really nothing I can do to stop that, but I'll need to keep an eye on his breathing and take his pulse every few minutes.

I don't take my eyes off of Danny as his muscles all relax and his head finally slumps to the side, resting on my shoulder. I grab his uninjured hand and rest two fingers against the inside of his wrist. I wait until I can feel his pulse before sighing heavily.

Although it's still irregular, his pulse is now at a semi-normal speed, and it feels strong.

I keep my hand there, on his wrist. The constant feeling of Danny's heartbeat keeps me calm, focused. As long as I can stay close to him, feel his heart still going, he'll be alright, _we'll_ be alright... I hope.

I look up at the two officers. They also look relieved at Danny's condition. A glance at Adam tells me the same story, although he still seems extremely anxious. I guess Adam's been through this before. How else would he have been brought in on the secret?

Once again, I let my head fall back against the wall. My eyes close. I need to let my mind process what's happened. It's all gone by so fast.

I need to _think_. I need to figure out how we're going to get out of this mess.

I continue my contemplations, my right hand on Danny's wrist, while my left clutches tightly to the box cutter hidden in my sleeve.

**Woohoo! Over 2000 words in one chapter! (that's a lot for me)**

**I'm going to camp in a couple of days and I doubt I will be able to get another update posted before I leave. Don't worry though; I'll get back on the fifth. I should have a whole bunch of new ideas and I'll be taking my notebook with me, so I'll be writing the old fashioned way while I'm there. That way, I'll just have to type up the new update when I get home...**

**Please Review!**


	15. Awake

**It's been nearly two months since I last updated this story and I am very sorry for that. I guess I thought that Summer vacation would bring some sort of magical inspiration, which would cause me to be writing several chapters a day, when, in reality, all it did was cause me to sleep in until well past lunch time and stay up well past what most normal people would consider bed time. I sincerely hope that with the coming school year (senior year!), my writer's block will diminish and I will be able to resume updating in a more timely manner.**

**I hope you like it!**

**Chapter Fifteen; Awake**

After almost two hours of waiting and unbearable worry, Danny's eyes opened.

At some point, I had repositioned both him and myself so that his head was resting on my lap. That way, I could keep an eye on him and we could both be more comfortable.

He looked up at me with sleepy eyes and gave me a weak smile.

I tried my best to return it. "Hey," I said softly.

His eyes opened a little more and became more focused. "Hey." he replied.

"How are you doing?" I asked, my voice still hushed, cautious of our captors just outside of the container. "Are you in any pain? What about your breathing?"

He shook his head tiredly. "My chest is a little sore, but I'm doin' jus' fine, Montana."

"Hey Messer," Both Danny and I looked up at Officer Billings, "Glad to see you doing better." Genuine concern mixed with relief was clear in his voice. Nielson nodded in agreement, as did Adam.

"Me too." he said, letting his eyes close once again for just a few moments. "I gotta say though, I really have the worst timing."

I let out a tiny chuckle, happy to see his never-ending sense of humor shining through in what must have been the most inappropriate of times.

Slowly, Danny lifted himself from his laying position and braced his back against the wall of the container, much the way I had been doing.

All of our heads snapped up and turned to the door of the container when we heard a walkie talkie crackle to life. The lead thug was mumbling into the walkie talkie. None of us could make out what was being said, but the look he shot the five of us sent a shiver down my spine.

The man nodded and ended the conversation with his accomplice. Clipping the walkie talkie to his belt, he started towards the semi. After hefting himself up into the container, he gave each of us an appraising look. His gaze rested on Danny.

"You," he pointed at Danny, "Yer comin' with me."

Despite the fact that he was still obviously pretty weak from his most recent episode, I could feel Danny's muscles tense as the anger flooded his veins.

He let out a scoff, "Yeah right. I ain't goin' anywhere with you thugs."

The man glared daggers at Danny, "You'll do as I say, or you'll quickly lose the use of yer other hand too." He pointed to Danny's injured hand, which he was cradling protectively against his chest. The man stepped forward, ready to make good on his promise.

"Why him?" I asked, trying to diffuse the situation, "Why don't you just use me? I already told you, he's not well; he won't be of much help to you."

The larger man gave me a silent snarl, "He's jus' helpin' us make a little phone call. We figure that he won't be much trouble if he's as sick as you lead us to believe." He stalked toward us and made a grab for Danny's arm. Danny quickly jerked away. The rage was frighteningly noticeable in his eyes.

"I don't care what you bastards _thought. _I ain't goin' anywhere with you or yer thugs."

The malice in the man's eyes almost made me flinch. Before he could react though, I leaned over to Danny and whispered frantically, "Danny, _please_, just do what he says." I lowered my voice even further, "I don't want to lose you, okay? So just... please."

All the anger and defiance seemed to drain from Danny's expression. He gave me a reassuring look and whispered in to my ear, "You're not goin' to lose me, okay, Montana?"

With more than a little effort, Danny then lifted himself to his feet, using the wall to bare the majority of his weight. I watched as Danny's legs wobbled. The lead thug then took Danny by the arm and promptly started leading him away and out of the container, not really seeming to care that Danny's obvious weakness was causing him to stumble and falter.

'Please," I prayed to whatever god that may have been listening, "please, just bring him back to me... Get us all through this."

**Once again, my apologies for the update lag.**

**Please Review!**


	16. We Got a Problem

**I am very glad to be back at this. I'm not sure, but I think I may try and finish my stories one at a time. I still can't say how often I'll be updating, but I think I have a firmer grasp of where I'm taking this particular story, so it should be more often than it has been lately.**

**I hope you all enjoy it. :)**

**This chapter will be from Flack's POV...**

**CHAPTER 16; We Got a Problem**

I hear my phone ringing for the fifth time in ten ten minutes. People are freaking out because there's some sort of gas leak down at the lab.

I pick up the phone. "Don Flack" I answer curtly, praying to god it isn't another person wanting to complain to me about the mess at the lab.

"_Don. It's Messer." _I hear Danny's voice and immediately stand up. He sounds weak. _"We got a problem."_

_"Danny?"_ I ask. I'm sure the people around me can hear the frantic tinge to my voice, but I don't really give a damn. "What's wrong? Are you having an episode? Is Munroe with you? Where are you right now." I'm babbling. I know I'm babbling, but Danny is my best friend and he really doesn't sound too good.

"Don, listen." he still sounds quieter than he usually does. "Me an' Montana are at the warehouse, along with Adam two other officers. We, ahh... we kinda got a situation here."

"What's happened?" I ask, still worried, not only for Danny, but now Lindsay and the two other officers as well.

I hear Danny's voice, but I can't understand what he's saying. It sounds as though he's taken the phone away from his mouth to speak to someone else.

After several seconds there's a muffled shuffle, a yell, and a dull thump.

Suddenly, there's another voice on the other end.

"We've taken four of yer fellow officers hostage." I immediately recognized the thick Irish accent and connected the dots in his head. "The only way for them to remain unharmed is if ya give us what we want."

What exactly do you want?" I ask, barely able to keep my voice even. I don't think I've ever been so angry.

There's was a click and then silence.

I take the phone away from my ear and look at it, confused. I had been in a couple negotiations and that wasn't usually what happened.

Shaking my head, I decide not to dwell on it. I slip my phone into my pocket, grab my vest and sprint outside. After climbing into my car and pulling out into the streets, I snatch up my radio to let dispatch know what's going on.

As I quickly rattle off the situation and the location, I can't help intense feeling of worry settle in the pit of my stomach. My friends are trapped in that damned warehouse with the frickin' IRA. They all must be terrified. Not to mention Danny. with how his heart is and how he sounded on the phone, he can't be doing too well.

I just hope I can stop anyone from getting hurt.

**As I said before, updates should be coming more often. **

**Please review! :)**


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